


Suite for Water and Earth

by froopsen



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Ace!Lin, Asexuality, Because of Reasons, F/F, First Dates, tensionbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27089650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froopsen/pseuds/froopsen
Summary: Exploring asexual Lin and what KyaLin could be like in that case.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 18
Kudos: 85
Collections: leituras atuais





	Suite for Water and Earth

**Author's Note:**

> listen to this for _the vibes_ while reading, if you want to :)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32FpqysC1PY
> 
> Thank you @Linguini for beta-reading this _project_ :)

Kya closed her eyes momentarily, trying to take in the music resonating within the gigantic hall. The cello was louder than she’d imagined, but then again everything seemed to be different than she’d imagined. It had been a long time since she’d gotten to enjoy music like this – though never _quite_ like this.

Never had she sat in a concert hall with Lin. Never had she been on something labeled as a “date” with Lin. Never had she thought she’d end up in a position like this. A position which allowed her to relax _with_ Lin in such a nearly magical setting. Of course they had spent relaxing moments and even whole days together and yet: it was entirely different now. They had dressed nicely, the other people seemed to be as elegant as their own taste in clothing and the way the giant chandelier hung above them made it all the more extravagant. She didn’t need to feel this, didn’t need fancy concerts and expensive dresses, but every once in a while, it didn’t hurt to go to events like these. With the music accompanying the glances that she stole at the beautiful woman next to her, the music speeding up and slowing down just like her heart beat she felt as though she were in some kind of romantic mover, and she almost caught herself looking for some camera that was supposed to take it all in – supposed to manifest the moment for end of time.

But there was no camera, so she had to do that herself. And she did. She took it all in. The people around her faded as she still had her eyes shut, letting her other senses take in as much of the moment as humanly possible. The soft sounds of the wooden instrument seemed to pull her in as they bounced around the room and reached her from all angles. A strand of her hair tickled her cheek as a light breeze came through one of the bigger windows. She opened her eyes again and glanced over at Lin to her right before looking at the musician. She noticed the elegant chandelier hanging from the ceiling again, filling the room with a dim light as the spotlight had been turned towards the performing artist.

She and Lin had shared an initial expression of awe when they had entered the room almost an hour ago. Lin often went to events like these and though Kya was more of a regular museum goer, she always found it refreshing to change up her go-to program every now and again, and it was even more refreshing this time.

It had been Lin who had suggested they do this together – quite frankly catching Kya by surprise. She had asked Lin to go on a date with her before – twice to be exact – and yet Lin had always found an excuse. She smiled thinking back. In the beginning, it had been more of a joke in the moment until she had reconsidered one day and seriously proposed a date. She had thought of going to dinner, but Lin had declined that offer as well. _Well, if you change your mind let me know, offer still stands,_ Kya had said, and left it at that

Little had Kya known when she’d spoken those words that Lin would actually take her up on it a month later. But she had. Lin had seemed stressed to bring it up, but that was just Lin. She had never been comfortable when it came to making private plans. Lin was organized, had her routines and usually didn’t like to change those. But Kya always kept reassuring her that the earthbender in fact didn’t _have_ to change her routine, but simply let her take part every now and again. As Kya now remembered the tentative look in the other woman’s face, when she said those things, she couldn’t help but wonder if that particular reassurance was the cause for the date she found herself on. With Lin it had always been difficult. Not being around her; that was always easy. Kya had found that the woman was surprisingly good at creating comfortable silence and even better at having interesting conversation with.

The difficult part was how she could never seem to fully understand Lin’s actions. She was organized but changed plans often – due to shifts, cases and general exhaustion. She would describe Lin as consistent and yet Kya could never calculate how she would react to something. The most mundane things would leave her guessing, so she just tried to read as much off her usually very balanced aura or try to listen for details in her steady voice. And Lin had such a nice voice, too.

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

Lin kept glancing at her wristwatch while Kya had her eyes trained at the small stage. They had been on this date – because that’s what they had called it – for almost two hours now and the program she held in her hand indicated that this was the second to last piece they were going to hear before the concert came to an end. Not that she needed to look at the program to know this. She’d already read over it enough times that she had committed much of it to memory by now.

The closer they got to the end of their date, the more anxious Lin felt herself getting, and she hated it. She’d wanted to enjoy the music and most of all Kya’s company. She had been looking forward to this all day and even more so to the discussion of music that would likely follow the concert. She hadn’t been out to these events much lately, feeling more tired than usual after changing her shift schedule for the months to come.

It was getting dark much earlier now that winter was approaching and she wanted to get as much daylight as possible, which was guaranteed by waking up earlier and so she had to accommodate to the new sleep rhythm she was setting in place. Everyone was aware of her habit. It had become sort of a seasonal routine for her and she had found it to come in handy, especially in the last few weeks. Kya had asked her out – the idea of which had sounded strange to her at first, because she hadn’t been asked out by a woman in a long time and less so by someone she knew, not to mention that Kya was – well, Kya. The fact that she was also Tenzin’s sister hadn’t gone unnoticed by either of them but besides a joke from the older woman’s end nothing had been mentioned – and really there was no need to.

She had blown Kya off twice: once using the excuse that she was working on a particularly hard case – which had been true at the time – and then again, saying she was still too tired in the evenings and exhausted from the days due to the change in shift schedule to be any good as company. While that had been true in the beginning, she’d already mostly gotten used to it by the time Kya proposed the idea to go on a date the for the second time.

She _wanted_ to experience things like this concert with the other woman – badly she had found – and spend time with her, alone rather than with others. She _wanted_ to know about her travels and how she always managed to make everyone laugh and forget their worries. She _wanted_ to feel her lighting up the room. It sounded so incredibly cliché to her, but she couldn’t help wanting to know all about her. How Kya connected with others rather easily, how she thought about art and music and the way people were, how her travels affected her view on – well, everything. She just wanted to listen to Kya.

She glanced over at her. Kya had closed her eyes again, like she had periodically throughout the evening. At first Lin had thought the waterbender was tired and not enjoying herself, but the way she sat comfortably in the chair next to hers and how she wore a relaxed expression with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth from time to time suggested otherwise. She liked the way Kya could just _be_. How she could sit comfortably and seemingly not think about anything other than what she was currently experiencing, fully indulging. She did that a lot. When they talked, Lin felt like all of Kya was focused on her, but not in a way that made her nervous – at least most of the time – but in a way where she felt she wanted to tell Kya about her life too and even the things she was interested in.

She hadn’t felt like this in a long time now and yet the more excited she got to spend time with Kya and get more and more personal, the more nervous she got. At first it was just nervous about not wanting to bother Kya, not wanting to force her own thoughts on the other woman, because what if Kya didn’t really enjoy listening to her? What if Kya wasn’t actually interested in sharing her stories with Lin? What – and this thought had scared her – if Kya just spent time with her out of pity?

But when she’d tried avoiding the other woman in order to see if she was in fact crowding her, it had always been Kya trying to make an effort to spend time with Lin. Coming into the city, asking her to spend lunchtime with her, suggesting they watch a movie together or go for a walk. When Lin was on Air Temple Island she always found a way to talk to Lin or ask for what she called “secret updates” on new cases. Lin smiled at the memory of Kya’s face when she’d said those words. _Secret updates._ Her eyebrows had wiggled purposefully and when Lin had disclosed one of the rather gruesome forensic details, the waterbender’s expression had changed to one of interest, that familiar spark dancing in her eyes. Lin loved that about her, the way you could always read her expression and see exactly what she was feeling. She found Kya to have an honest face – which she couldn’t have explained what that meant exactly if someone asked her to. And Lin appreciated honesty – greatly so.

The music stopped and Kya opened her eyes again, turning to Lin when she noticed the woman looking at her. She smiled curtly, her eyes quickly looking her up and down with a questioning look on her face before both of them turned their attention back to the stage. The musician set his bow on top of the strings again, pausing slightly, capturing the audience in slight suspense, before continuing to play.

 _This is the final piece,_ Lin thought and shifted in her chair, slightly bumping against Kya, immediately shooting her eyes over to the waterbender. But she hadn’t even noticed. Lin repressed a relieved sigh and tried repositioning herself. _This is ridiculous_ , she thought again. _This is exactly why I didn’t want to call this a date_. If they hadn’t labeled this it would be more relaxing now, she wouldn’t have to quiet the questions pressing at the back of her head. She’d pushed them away all evening, trying to just enjoy the time spent with Kya – pretending it was like any other time they’d done something together. Except it wasn’t. This was different and while it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal for the other woman, Lin had spent time in her apartment, steeling herself, trying to muster up a little courage in advance for what was to come at the end of the date – most likely. People kissed. That was something of a mandatory step for a first date gone well. She knew so – from experience and everything else there was: movies, books, plays, songs. There was no way _not_ to know.

The time she had spent getting ready she had also spent trying to come up with ways to evade that outcome. She should take it as a good sign if Kya wanted to kiss her, she knew that meant they would be able to progress in their relationship, she knew it would mean Kya might feel the same way about her – at least in a romantic one. Lin just couldn’t bear to show it in that way. And she didn’t want to tell Kya either. The dates she had gone on after her relationship with Tenzin had always ended badly after the other person had tried to kiss her – some out of the blue, which were the worst. Needless to say there were no second dates after she’d successfully shoved them away from herself. Others had asked to kiss her, but then when she’d told them about how she didn’t want that kind of physical contact they had taken it personally, thinking it was about them not being “beautiful enough”. One woman had even suggested that this was a sign of Lin struggling too much with the fact that she was attracted to a woman and not a man and that this fact and whatever societal norm came with it stopped her from indulging in her desire.

The truth was that she didn’t care whether it was a man or a woman, she just didn’t feel the desire to clamp her mouth against someone else’s. And even more so, she had a hard time understanding why others would want that. The sounds and the saliva were enough to put her off. She swallowed, cringing hard while trying to forget what it felt like as she thought back on some of her kisses. She looked to her left again, and Kya’s relaxed position, slightly leaning her head, legs crossed, a finger loosely playing with her long hair, brought her thoughts into a nicer direction again – like the calmness had jumped over and settled over her a little.

This was another factor that left her so incredibly conflicted: Kya’s effect on her. Kya usually made her feel calm and relaxed, like she didn’t have to entertain to be interesting. She didn’t have to tell her anything, but when she wanted to, Kya seemed to be even excited to listen. This in turn made Lin _want_ to share things with Kya. They had talked a lot recently and at this point Lin caught herself seeing certain articles or passages in her reports that made her want to go and tell Kya, just to see the woman’s reaction.

Then on the other hand, Kya had the ability to make her nervous – both in a good and a bad way. She gave Lin compliments and smiled ever so warmly. Once she had used the word _beautiful_ as a descriptive when Lin had asked her why she wanted to go on a date and Lin thought about that more often than she’d like to admit. She also seemed to sense that Lin liked her personal space and had never been one to invade it all that much. She was someone Lin could see herself in a relationship with – if it weren’t for _those_ concerns.

The speed of the bow running across the instrument’s strings quickened and brought Lin back out of her head. She didn’t want to mess this up, she wanted Kya to know how much she liked her, how she thought this could be _more_ , how at this point it was what consumed most of her thoughts aside from the cases she worked on. She wanted this and yet she knew that meant at some point having to bring up all the things she _didn’t_ want. It made her stomach turn. So what if she just tried with Kya. Kya was patient and Lin – Lin was scared. Scared of things happening – things that would drive them apart or things that would drive Kya away.

She knew this song wasn’t going to last all that much longer, she remembered what she had come up with. The solution was to hold Kya’s hand for just a little while, right before the concert ended, because then Lin wouldn’t have to worry about extracting her fingers again. Because she would _have_ to. Everyone would start clapping and it would be rude not to. They would _have_ to stop touching.  
She could show her she cared. She could show her she wanted this. All the while having the possibility to decline a kiss afterward. Trade one affection for the other. It sounded stupid to her, but why not? She knew she didn’t have to. She knew she didn’t need to kiss Kya if she didn’t want to, she was free. _Free will. Remember?_ She made sure to always remember, but somehow the obligation didn’t let her go – trapped her. Much as her wish to keep Kya around – even just for a little while longer.

She took a deep breath, her heartbeat quickening as she reached over, not daring to look at Kya. In the corner of her eye, she saw her hand approaching the other woman’s. She could still back out, Kya hadn’t noticed, she was watching the stage. No, she wanted Kya to know how she felt and this was the safest way. Just a few moments. Her hand trembled slightly the closer she came, preparing herself for the feeling, preparing herself for the movement of Kya’s hand underneath her own. Her wrist brushed Kya’s chair and she couldn’t help but wonder how she was close enough for their shoulders to basically be so close that she’d been worried again and again this evening and yet her hand seemed to travel mile after mile to get to hers. 

Then she felt her fingers brushing skin – soft skin. She lay her hand atop Kya’s and then her arm grew limp as she rested it there. It’s not like it hurt her. She didn’t feel pain because she touched Kya, but then again, she wanted nothing more in that moment than to retract her hand again. _Concentrate on something else, she reminded herself, the music, guess the pitches._ She was listening hard to try and guess, but Kya stirred and Lin’s focus was drawn back to the woman next to her. She looked over. She watched as Kya turned her hand. Her long fingers wrapping around hers. Kya’s hand was warm. When the waterbender squeezed slightly, Lin locked eyes with her and saw that warm smile. That smile and those eyes – happy. She liked seeing Kya this way; so much so, that for a split second the urge to rip her hand back to herself dulled down a little. As the music stopped and people stood to applaud, that urge came back tenfold as she noticed Kya still held on to her, still had her fingers interlocked with her own and she felt as though she would have to dig each of her fingers free and at that prospect her breathing increased instantly. _Why isn’t she letting go? She was supposed to let go when the clapping started. She was supposed to start clapping._ She decided it was enough. Kya was happy, Kya knew.

Rather abruptly Lin pulled away, taking the other woman’s hand halfway back with her before she felt the contact disappear fully. She stood, too. Applauding, training her eyes back to the stage as she consciously slowed her breathing again. She felt herself clapping louder and louder, as though the way her right palm hit her other would erase the touch that somehow still lingered. Kya had stood up shortly after her and wasn’t looking at her any longer.

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

Kya stood outside, waiting for Lin to come out of the bathroom. Now that the sun was completely set, she was more than glad to have brought her thick coat out with her. She was so content with how the evening was going. Lin seemed a little more nervous than usual, but she found it to be very endearing and – a word she never thought to associate with the earthbender before – cute. She could see her walking towards her and couldn’t help the smile that snuck its way on her face. Lin walked purposefully and looked around, closing her coat all the way to her chin before she found Kya standing next to one of the columns of the immense building. The instant she saw her, she also had a smile on her lips and came over.

\--------------------------------------------------------- 

_You’ve got this. You can say no. She won’t be offended. It’s Kya not just anyone. Patient and loving Kya._ She put her hands in the pockets of her coat as she approached the waterbender. For one it was cold, but it also insured that there would be no further handholding. She had come up with different ways to evade people’s seemingly constant need to touch by useful pockets or holding some binder or mug – because politicians were hand shakers and she very much was not.

“Hey,” Kya said as she approached, “I was almost afraid you’d accidentally locked yourself in the bathroom.”

Lin felt her cheeks growing hot as she smiled awkwardly, “Sorry, there was a line.”

 _That’s a lie,_ Lin instantly reprimanded herself. _Why lie to her?_ There had been exactly one person in front of Lin. The reason she had taken so long was that she’d felt the need to steel herself again. Some attempt at a pep-talk, pressing her own hand to her lips, trying to ready her mouth for the feeling in case Kya wasn’t the asking kind after all. She felt so pathetic for trying so hard. She was comfortable with who she was, she didn’t feel bad for not wanting the kisses and the touching and the sex. She hadn’t felt this conflicted about that part of herself in years and it was strange coming back to it now. Acceptance about herself had settled in and more often than not she liked not wasting her time with the need to give into what others called temptations. She had given up trying to understand what others got from it. It wasn’t for her, so why bother? Some questions just didn’t have answers. Everyone was walking around with a different “why” in their head and for her it was this one.

“Let’s get going, I’ll bring you to the dock,” she suggested nodding towards its direction.

Kya smiled and let Lin lead the way. They walked in silence for a while until Kya asked how Lin had liked the concert.

“It was very nice. This specific musician always manages to capture so much emotion in the way he plays. Did you notice how he always makes sure to pause after re-setting his bow when starting a new piece?”

Kya remembered back, nodding as she knew what the earthbender was talking about. “It’s very purposeful, isn’t it?”

Lind nodded vehemently, “Yes, he is very precise with his technique. He plays the notes the exact lengths and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him making a mistake or getting off key.”

“You come to these concerts a lot, don’t you?” Kya noticed, appreciating having uncovered yet another one of Lin’s many interests.

Lin looked at her and Kya’s heart jumped slightly at the intensity in her eyes. “I like the cello a lot and the way it captures you. It is calm even when played at a fast pace. I don’t appreciate it when instruments are high pitched. Like violins – especially that vibrato.”

Kya watched her shudder in obvious discomfort. “What is a vibrato?” she chuckled, “I don’t think I’m _that_ familiar with the technical terms. Just more of a music-listener myself.”

Lin smiled, keen on sharing her knowledge and excited that Kya didn’t mind asking about these things. The metalbender took out one of her hands and stretched her arm forward, into their line of sight.

“So imagine there are the strings,” she began, turning her hand, palm facing upwards, fingers tapping the inside and holding the invisible neck of the instrument. “I don’t know the _exact_ movement, like I said not my favorite instrument – or sound – but essentially it’s when they do this.” Her lower arm as a whole started moving – shaking almost – back and forth curtly.

Kya remembered seeing this motion done by a street-musician in Ba Sing Se and suddenly knew exactly which sound Lin was referring to. “Oh, spirits I don’t like that either,” she grimaced, “and especially when it’s one of those terribly high notes.”

Lin smiled, content with having succeeded to explain. “Well,” she said, hiding her hand away again, “that’s why I like the cello anyways. There you can play with vibrato as well, but it’s much more soothing.”

Kya smirked. “There’s also a lot of other things you could do with that movement. Those musicians probably have very happy wives,” she joked. Lin looked at her, confusion written all over her face.

The silence between them stretched to a point where Kya thought about whether Lin had ever been intimate with a woman before, until Lin just nodded firmly.

“Yes, it must be nice to have someone play for you.”

Kya thought it was her way of changing the topic back to music and she took the hint. “You don’t know how to play any instruments, do you?”

Lin sighed, turning her gaze towards the docks which weren’t that far away anymore. “I had piano lessons when I was young, but like you, I enjoy listening more than playing myself.”

“I didn’t know that,” Kya gasped, “You’re full of surprises Lin.”

She watched Kya closely, searching for irony, but couldn’t find any. She felt that comfortable warmth settling in her chest again. Kya looked genuinely impressed at the revelation and it made Lin want to test out how much of the musical skill was still left in her muscle memory – just in case Kya ever asked her to play for her.

She had watched how Kya tried holding on to Lin’s arm from time to time, but always noticed soon enough to look over her shoulder just in time, effectively making it impossible for the waterbender to hold on. “That rustling is just raising my detective instincts,” she apologized smiling at the other woman. _Stop lying like that! What are you? A teenager? She’s not that stupid._

“It’s probably just some animal looking for food. I doubt anyone’s following us,” Kya chuckled, “But look as much as you want to, if it makes you feel any better.”

The sincerity in her voice gave Lin a much guiltier conscience. _Maybe I should just tell her._

Then Kya stopped walking and turned to her. _Oh no,_ Lin thought instinctively and cursed herself afterwards. “What is it?” she asked, trying to sound neutral in tone.

“This is where the ferry takes off,” Kya answered, nodding towards the boat that was already approaching from afar.

“Right,” Lin said, rubbing the back of her neck, “I’m not down here often.”

Kya stepped a little closer, but they weren’t touching. Not yet, Lin dreaded.

“You know,” Kya said, her tone changing, “I really did enjoy myself a lot today.”

The earthbender tried to evade her gaze for a moment. “I’m glad. I was unsure whether you’d like it. You said you were more interested in the kind of art hanging on walls.”

“I foremost like spending time with you.” Kya saw a chance to propose continuation, “Though we could do that next time.”

“What? Go to a museum?”

“Yes,” the waterbender confirmed, “If you want to, that is. I for one would love to go on a second date with you, Lin.”

It was the second time that evening Kya had used her name with so much intent and Lin had to admit she liked the way it sounded. It felt weirdly personal, like Kya wanted to remind her of something – as though the earthbender would forget her own name if she didn’t say it every now and again.

“I would like that very much,” she admitted, a smile finding its way on her face, “I had a nice evening as well.”

They stood there for a while just looking at each other’s faces and Lin had forgotten all about the dread she’d felt. She was so focused on the way Kya looked up at her, that she was caught off guard when the waterbender spoke again.

“Lin, I would-“ she started out, glancing down in between them for a second before locking eyes with Lin again, “I would like to kiss you goodbye for the night.”

She felt the familiar panic raising within her again, but instead tried to focus on Kya’s eyes – searching the calmness she usually found there. “It’s a first date after all,” she forced a smile. Why? Trying to buy herself some time. Trying to hint her discomfort. Trying to mask her emotions. Just trying so many things.

“That it is,” Kya chuckled, slowly leaning in closer, halting just inches before Lin’s lips. “So can I?”

 _She’s so close, you can’t back out now. Yes, she’s asking, but if you say no, she will be disappointed._ Lin didn’t want to cause disappointment – having felt like she’d done that for the bigger part of her life to a lot of people over and over again. “Yes,” she whispered before noticing just what she had said yes to. She felt her fists balling in her coat, her eyes watching as Kya closed hers and moved even closer.

 _Why can’t you just say no?_ Lin thought right before their mouths touched. The back of her hand in the bathroom had done her no good. Her hand had been cold. Kya’s lips were warm and not in a nice way – not in a way her eyes and smiles were warm. They were smooth, too, sinking into her own tightly pressed Lips, making their faces touch even more. Not even a whole second had passed before Lin couldn’t take it any longer, quickly turning her head leaving Kya’s mouth to brush against her cheek before their contact broke again. She thanked her hands for being in the coat’s pockets because otherwise she would have likely shoved Kya too, the earthbender’s body wanting to run away as fast as possible. Instead she just took a step back. That was all the running she could do at the moment without hurting Kya. That much she knew.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed and her body sent tears to sting at her eyes. _Pull it together, you can’t cry right now._

Kya was visibly confused, her brows furrowed, but her words were forming a stark contrast. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. When she reached out to place her hand on Lin’s arm reassuringly, the metalbender backed away slightly once more.

“It’s fine,” Kya added, pulling back her hand into her coat, mirroring the other woman. 

_There it is_ , Lin thought, evading Kya’s gaze. The moment she had dreaded so much and done everything in her power to prevent. She had spent so much time thinking it through and yet it still happened and it made her feel awful. The pit forming in her stomach was most likely a combination of what the kiss had done to her and the way Kya seemed so uncomfortable now.

“I’m sorry,” Lin apologized again, not knowing what else to say. She felt like a child after breaking a vase and heard a sigh coming her way.

“Look at me,” Kya said.

 _If you don’t, she’ll touch you again._ And seeing as Lin had already met that limit – and foolishly overstepped it – she found Kya’s disappointment to somehow be the lesser evil and did as requested. She was confronted with the other woman’s head slightly tilted to the side. The confusion had been replaced with concern. _At least there’s no pity._

“It’s fine,” Kya assured, her eyes underlining the statement gently, “I mean it.”

Lin nodded, not wanting to speak, scared her tears would start flowing. _Why are there even any?_ As if she weren’t nervous enough about how her reaction would leave Kya feeling.

“I understand.”

 _No, you don’t._ Lin listened.

“It’s only our first date and-“

The ferry honked and pulled them out of the weird bubble that had formed around them. As Kya looked at the boat already forgetting to finish her sentence, Lin let out a breath and quickly wiped her eyes before the other woman turned back towards her.

“I really have to take this ferry,” Kya murmured, “Unless you’re not alright to go home on your own.”

“Of course I am,” Lin answered, not understanding how Kya could think more company would solve the problem that now stood between them, “I usually go home by myself, I’ll have you know.” _Why make a joke now?_ She felt so lost. Her words failed her. Her actions did, too.

“You just don’t seem-“ Kya didn’t finish.

“I’m fine, get on the boat, Kya.” Lin noticed how her voice sounded rather commanding and inwardly cursed herself – again. But she couldn’t handle the way Kya looked at her now. She just wanted to leave.

Kya nodded, seemingly unphased by the tone. “Alright.”

“Goodnight.” Lin said as the waterbender stepped onboard.

“Good night,” Kya repeated softly, “And Lin.”

She looked up from the water slashing against the stone beneath her. “Yes?”

“Thank you for tonight,” Kya said.

“I really did like it a lot,” Lin answered, feeling the need to reassure Kya once again.

“I’ll call you about that second date,” Kya smiled.

Lin didn’t say anything. How could she now? What would she even say? _Maybe not, Kya. You don’t actually want that._ That was what lay on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t – wouldn’t – didn’t dare. _What a mess._


End file.
